Meet Coral
by Actress4TheLord
Summary: Max is settled into a new house with her flock. Things are going ok. But then there was a knock on the door. Behind it held a strange 13 year old girl who calls herself Coral. With twists and turns and akward little moments, it all goes down hill from there. Who is Coral? Where did she come from? What will happen to the flock? Read to find out...
1. Chapter 1

**Meet Coral**

**Max's p.o.v**

"Hi...I'm...uh..C-Coral." She uttered quietly.  
"Hello... Coral." I replied coldly. "Why are you here?"  
"I... I just.." Coral looked down at her shoes. "I thought that maybe... I was lost and I... I saw your house and thought... Maybe..."  
The girl standing in our doorway was undoubtedly scared and unsure. She was younger than me, smaller than me, and not as well fed as me. Her dark brown hair was strait and limp, coming all the way down to her waist.  
"Come inside." I said warily, and she stepped throug the doorway, looking relieved.  
_Don't think she knows that I could snap her neck easier if she can't runaway. Though, she hasn't seemed dangerous yet. Not that that meant anything._  
"Sit." I ordered meanly, only taking a moment to glance around at our new-ish house. It normal i guess, as houses go. It was two stories, with four bedrooms, three bathrooms, the only two combined being mine. How's that for a 'being leader' perk. The thing you know, not normal, about our home was the location. It was on a cliff. Over a jungle. In some top secret location near... Ummm, no. Again, like I would tell you.  
"Okay, Coral, tell me about you. Why were you lost?" I inquired, mentally telling Angel to get the others into the main room.  
_Angel. New girl in the house. Not sure about her. Looks human. Get the others._  
_**Ok, max.**_  
"I... Well... Ummm... Wandered off from my h-home, and I" she studdered, but stopped and stared as my five other compadres made their entrance. Angel's eyes widened and she winced, making me glare at Coral. She shyed away from my glare.  
"Angel." I whispered, barely audible, and she gulped, taking a step forward.  
Suddenly, she flung herself at Coral, grabbing her shoulder and pulling it around, so that her back faced us.  
_Her shoulder blades..._  
Coral screamed, eyes wide, terrified. Despite the sight, with Angel angrily gripping Coral's shoulder, and Coral screeching, seemingly innocent, I was on Angel's side. I wasn't even because she was one of the Flock and Coral wasnt. It was just... Angel was usually right.  
Lighting fast, I reached forward, twisting Coral's arm behind her and she bit her lip, trying not to cry out. I pulled harder. A pained sound escaped her lips. Angel narrowed her eyes and ripped the light windbreaker off the girls body, revealing her...  
_Wings. They were blue-ish near her spine, but faded slowly to gray. It reminded me of a swallow, the same way Angel reminded me of a dove, and I reminded myself of a hawk._  
A collective gasp spread throughout the mutant freak crowd, gaping at the mutant freak show.  
"It's not what it looks like." She said a little too hastily. "They're a... Costume for a p-party I was going to."  
"Suuuuure..." Fang said beside me.  
"Angel?" I asked. She nodded. In unison, we all shrugged off our own jackets, stretching out our own wings about halfway.  
She gaped.


	2. You Can Do Whaaat!

Hey, all of you few people who read my work. I appreciate you. And here's one person who just made my day:

**User** **user** (thanks so much for reviewing! It wasn't much but I was so happy you did it! Totally made my day! Thanks! :))

**You Can Do Whaaat!?**

Coral's POV  
"No... No... This isn't right... I must be dreaming... Yes. Dreaming. That's it. Where did I fall asleep last. Ohhh... Someone pinch me." I murmured, pacing back and forth. I pinched myself.  
_Still here... Oh... What do I doooooooo? _  
"Take a chill pill, kid." Said the one with shaggy black hair. He didnt scare me near as much as the girl. He shook his wings out. They were black, like a raven's.  
_Oh my gosh... Other bird kids. Who have obviously been trained to fight. The little one bested me. Mmmmmmmm..._  
I have to admit. I panicked. My brain overloaded with thoughts. Terrified thoughts. Adrenaline pumped through me. My heart beat faster. My breaths came in quick short puffs. Without thinking, (actually it was more like thinking so many things at once that my thoughts were incoherent and jumbled) I mustered up all the energy I could, trying to focus that energy into my eyes. I closed them for half a second, and before any of them could even suspect anything, I flashed open my eyes lids and glared at the mean girl who answered the door. Horror and awe showed on all of their faces.  
"Oh... That's... Look at all the colors... Red, green, purple, pink, blue, yellow..." The darker skinned girl murmured.  
They were all mesmerized by the beauty. Except the girl I was staring down. At first she tried to stare back.  
_Bad idea._  
Her eyes shut closed, and she clenched her fists, but the others didnt notice. I forced all that pent up energy onto her. No one else could feel it but me and her. At first she looked shocked, and her muscles tensed. Her eyes locked on mine for just a moment, and I could feel her pain. See it in her eyes.  
_So much power... I can destroy her... I could... I will... _  
I smiled wickedly.  
_ . I can't. This power. I... It's too much... I won't... Be that person again..._

I released her, trembling. I can't become that person again. The one I was before... Before...

The girls eyes flickered shut, and she crumpled, unconscious.  
"MAX!" I heard one of them yell, but then the world turned blurry. Distantly, I felt myself begin to fall. I don't know whether I hit the ground or not.

Max's POV

It's all black. I can't move. Am I unconsious?  
Yes. I think I am.  
Just... Remember to breath. Remember to think. C'mon you dang heart! Beat faster! I need you to jump start me!  
Remember to breath.  
Remember to think.  
Remember to... To what?  
Breath. Got it.  
Breath.  
Remember to breath.  
Remember to...  
Remember...  
To...

. . . .

.

Hehe. Suspenseful enough for ya? Review! :)


	3. Maaaax?

Hey, people of Internet land and obsessors of Maximum ride! I don't own Maximum Ride! But I do own Coral. Anyway, just a heads up for the future, I may update very often and consistently right now, but its just because I have a lot off free time and inspiration. My updates may come inconsistently, but don't get mad. Writers block is a serious issue. :) my thanks to:

**User user** (thanks! It took me forever to come up with her power. :))

**BirdKid13** (awww. Thanks. *blush*)

**save the manatee** (thanks a ton! And I really like cliff hangers so just be prepared! I love you're username btw!)

**M****aaaaax?**

Coral's POV

I woke up quickly. Rubbing my eyes, I was thankful. Of course, I had the misfortune of hitting my head on the coffe table on my way down, so I felt a big lump forming on the back of my head.  
_Ow._  
"MAX!" Yelled the tall dark boy, and he stared daggers at me.  
"What. Did. You. DO?" He growled, grabbing the collar of my rumpled shirt, and hauling me to eye level with him. His eyes were like pillars of ice. I whimpered under his fierce gaze.  
"I'll tell you! I promise!" I squeaked, struggling in vain. "I think she'll be ok, but I... I lost control." My voice got quiet near the end. He gave me a chilling look and released me, turning back to the girl unconsious on the floor.  
She wasnt breathing. The others noticed at the same time as me.  
"Max?" Whimpered the little boy with blonde hair.  
They all gathered around her, looking panicked. The little girl who took my jacket looked up at the dark haired boy, looking teary-eyed.  
_I did this._

Max's POV

I hear voices, but they're distant. I can't place them. All I know is that I'm here. I know nothing else. Not my name. Not my life, if it was still there. Not my family.  
Family.  
F-  
Fl-  
Flock.  
FLOCK!  
The Flock!  
MY Flock.  
I need to get back to my flock.  
Move stupid muscles! MOVE! I hear a sound escape my lips. There's a start. Eyes. Open. I try. Really, really hard. I do. But I can't seem to move my stupid eyelids.  
_Dumb eyelids._  
I hear gasps. I said it out loud. Yes!  
"Flock." I murmur. More gasps.  
M-  
Ma-  
Max.  
who's Max?  
Am I- yes!  
"Max." I say. I still can't move, but I feel myself being shaken.  
"Fang, Iggy, " I murmur, names appearing in my brain. "Nudge, Gazzy, Angel."  
C-  
Co-  
Cor-  
"Coral." I kind-of growled. And if you can sound venomous while half dead, I was doing it.  
My eyes flickered open and I jackknifed into a sitting position. My vision was blurry and a wave of nausia washed over me, but I wasn't dead.  
_Whoo- hoo! I'm alive!_

Fang's POV  
"Flock." Max murmured, and spark of hope ignited on all our faces.  
"Max" her breathing was ragged, but there all the same. "Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, Angel... _Coral_." She practically spat that last name, and sat up quickly, making all of us jump.  
"Max!" Angel cried happily.  
She was alright, she was alive, and she immediatley turned and wretched into my lap.  
"Oh, gross." I muttered, but the I knew relief showed plain on my face.  
Leaning over, I kissed her forehead. She barely noticed. Gazzy made a grossed out face, and I wasn't sure if it was at my lap full of Max vomit or my un-Fang like display of affection. Probably the later.

_She's ok._

Coral's POV  
I cleared my throat, sure they'd all forgotten I was here. Exept the one they called Max. Five heads zipped around to see my relieved face, and immediatley stood and assumed an unbelievably angry expression. That one boy's pants were gonna have an eternal stain. Oops.  
"What the heck?!" Exclaimed the tall blonde boy. "What was that!? You nearly killed her!"  
" 'm ok Iggy." Slurred a voice behind them. She then proceeded to stand up, only to stagger forward a few steps and need to be supported between the two older guys. The look on her face showed irritation at her weakness.  
"Look..." She said coolly,but obviously still fighting nausia, "I really didnt want have to kick your butt, but after what you just did, well..."  
"Oh we're wasting time!" Yelled the guy I assumed was Iggy. His fist was quick flying at my face. I braced myself, not making a sound and he... Missed.  
"Make a noise, will you!" He scowled.  
_Is he... Blind?_  
The littlest girl nodded.  
_What?_  
"Don't hurt her Iggy. She was meant to find us." She said, sound kind of... Prophetic. Max looked like she was going to blow her top. "Coral, welcome to the Flock."

Im not entirely sure about this chapter ending! I may change it if you guys think it needs work! Review! :)


	4. Welcome to the Flock Or Maybe Not

Hey! I'm back with another update! One note: this isn't set in any set point in the real story, it's just and extra story. If that makes sense. and I don't own Maximum Ride. My thanks to:

**BirdKid13 **(thanks for the tip! And yeah I know about Max being reluctant. It's in this chapter! Hooray!)

**User user **(its totally awesome that you keep reviewing! It makes me so happy!)

**Welcome to the Flock... Or Maybe Not.**

Coral's POV

"What?!" I yelled in unison with the girl I think is Max.  
"Angel!" Max screeched, and you could almost see steam coming out of her ears. "Since when did I agree to this?! This girl can't just walts in here and be one of us! Did you even see what she just did?! She almost-"  
"Stop!" I interrupted, making Max scowl. "Did I even say I wanted to be here? I may not... Uh... Have a...uh... Home, but I d-didnt say I wanted to stay here!"  
I hated myself for studdering, but I couldn't help it. This Max chic scared the crap out of me.  
Now she looked really mad. "What, we're not good enough for you? Well your the one who showed up on our doorstep asking for help! Don't forget there are six of us and one of you. I don't advise you make me mad." Ice dripped from her words. A shiver ran down my spine.  
_Gee- whiz, how the heck is she so intimidating?_  
The little girl giggled. We both glared at her but I don't think she cared.  
"Well, I came here looking for a little hospitality! You know, a little food, a warm bed, or even a point in the right direction. Nice people doing a lost young girl a favor, but nooooo, what I get is six stupid, rude, FREAKS!" All of them reacted to this. Even the emo-looking guy clenched his jaw. I could tell that each and every one of them wanted to snap my neck. Well, ha. I have something they don't. Freaky eyes that control people. Ha. Ha. Ha. Using only a minuscule amount of energy, I changed my eye color.  
_Red. Yes, that was a good choice._  
Remember how I said Max was intimidating? In my own way, I can play that game. And WIN.  
"Listen, freaks." I growled in an unnaturally deep voice. "If you even think, for one second that I couldn't kill you with my bare hands, well, let me tell you. It won't be long before I prove you wrong. Dead wrong. It will be slow and agonizing and painful. Do. You. Hear. Me?" And just at the right time, it started pouring rain outside, and a huge bolt of lightnig flashed in the window behind me. You should have seen their faces. They looked like they'd seen a ghost. Collaborating with a vampire. To kill the entire population of mummies walking before them. It was so dang _hilarious_! It took all my self control not to crack up laughing. The little blonde girl _did_ bust out in giggles. I didn't notice, but she was the only one not scared.  
"Guys! You should see your faces!" She puffed out between giggles. "She totally freaked you out!"  
I decided I liked this girl. I changed my eyes back to normal and turned to her, almost laughing myself.  
"It was pretty funny, huh?" I asked her, too insanely amused to fell guilty about being so mean.  
Max snapped out of it first, trying to regain her cool.  
"Max is wondering how you actually phased her. Cuz she's 'Max the invincible." The little girl chimed. Max scowled at her.  
The others began to realize how not-scary I was and kind of just stood there akwardly. Except the black winged guy. He just regained his posture as if nothing happened.  
It occurred to me that all of them seemed to have forgotten what I almost did to Max a minute ago. The little girl made a face at me.  
_Huh?_

Angel's POV

_Coral- Everyone seems to have forgotten what I almost did to Max a minute ago_  
I tried to give her a look that said, "as if." But I'm not sure she got the message.  
_My name's Angel by the way. Now you can stop thinking of me as 'the little blonde girl.'_  
I pushed the thought at her gently.  
"How do you know what I was thinking of you as?" She asked confused, as if I had said it out loud. I giggled.  
_I can read minds, silly._  
_Coral- holy crap. So she has been reading my mind this whole time? Even when I thought about Max being intimidating? Oh geez..._  
_Max- Angel! What are you telling her? I don't trust her! Stop it!  
Fang- How the heck did that girl actually scare me?_  
I giggled. "Fang wants to know 'how the heck you scared him." I tell Coral, and she lets out an amused pfft. Fang narrows his eyes at me, and I smile back sweetly.

_Coral's POV_  
"I would tell you guys my power but..." I say teasingly, probably crossing some kind of line, but whatever. "Max says that I can't stay, so..."  
_I know I said I didn't want to stay, but I really do. They freaked me out at first but I do need a place to stay..._  
"No." Max said sternly, and scowled at me.  
"Please, Max? Please please please? Pretty pretty please with a homemade chocolate chip cookie on top?" Angel pleaded. I looked over at her to see the most adorable, most convincing, most sad looking Bambi eyes I had ever seen in my life.  
"Fine." She huffed angrily. "But one step in the wrong direction, and she's out."  
That exchange really made me sound like a stray dog Angel picked up off the street.  
"Your power?" The dark skinned girl asked. "I remember when I discovered my powers. We were in this Institute and I touched the computer and bam! I suddenly knew all about the person who worked there and the password and everything! It was so cool! Then we were on this plane and I reached over and my soda can was instantly attracted to me like, what's the expression? Flies to a... No... Oh! Moths to a candleli-"  
"NUDGE!" Cried the tall blonde boy, and she instantly shut her mouth.  
_Thank heavens._  
"Names first." I said boldly. "You know mine. I should know yours."  
"This is Max," chimed Angel. "I'm Angel. The silent one is Fang. The tall blonde one is Iggy. This is Nudge. Here's The Gasman. We call him Gazzy."  
"Don't ask why." Said Iggy gravely. "Now spill."  
"Okay, okay." I say, not entirely ready, but knowing that stalling probably had its consequences. "You obviously know it has something to do with my eyes. They change color, which is pretty cool, but here's the best part. I can use them to inflict emotions and change perspectives. It's way fun to prank people if you're me, but it gets a little akward if they catch you."  
"That's how you scared us..." I heard fang mutter.  
"But it apperently doesn't work on Angel." I finish up with.  
"Way cool." Was the only thing said, and it was from Iggy, who then proceeded to drop a small black object into my hand. I looked at it suspiciously and rolled it between my fingers.  
_It had a button._  
"Don't!" I heard Angel yell.  
But I had already pressed it, sending electric currents running up and down my body, and I heard a sizzling sound. The shock didnt hurt much, but it took me off guard and I practically jumped ten feet in the air.  
"And that's what you get for messing with the Igster!" He shouted and slapped high fives with The Gasman.  
So that pretty much sums up my first day with the flock. So much for first impressions. *sigh*

If the end is not all that great, please tell me! I love tips! Review! :)


	5. Odd Happenings

**Heya! I don't own Maximum Ride! I would like to say really quick that Dylan and Total are going to be in the story, they just aren't yet. And, this chapter is pretty long, just because I was trying my hardest. My thanks to:**

**BirdKid13 (thanks so much for favoriting! And I checked out your story! I really like it! Anyone else reading this should check it out!)**

**One other thing, I was reading this story called "50 ways to annoy Fang." You guys should read it. It's sooo funny! But if you're a guy, don't read chapter 10. Seriously. Okay! Now onto the story!**

**Odd Happenings.**

Max's POV

I've been keeping a close eye on Coral. She seems OK, and Angel and the rest of the younger kids seem to like her. I think she's even starting to grow on Iggy too. I'm not fooled though. Neither is Fang.  
I was currently doing a quick perimeter check, suggested by none other than moi. All seemed alright. No erasers or whitecoats here. Thanks to my awesome raptor vision, this job was pretty easy. The wings made it better too, but you know... Whatever. I spotted a little gleam in the corner of my eye, and turned my head to check it out.  
_I'm sure it's nothing._  
But of course, I was wrong. The thing shot past my left wing, and I whipped around to look. What I saw looked like someone had grafted bat wings onto an unusually large gecko. It was about a foot tall, and flying upright like a bird-kid. Three more appeared behind me, and one ripped out a few of my secondary feathers, making me suck in a quick breath through my teeth.  
_Ow._  
I tried to fight them , but they were so dang _fast_. Every time I threw a punch, they just flitted away. It was really annoying.  
_Think Max, think!_  
They were closing in on me, wings beating fast.  
_Wings... Wings! My wings!_  
I did a big spin in the air, whacking all four of them with my powerful, feathered wings. I hit one of them just right, snapping its neck and it went down.  
_Yes!_  
They kind of hovered in the air, trying to regain balance, so I reached out and grabbed one, pulling it's wings together, and it dropped into the forest below, making an odd hissing noise.  
_Two more..._  
I looked over at the other two, and they kind of just ... exploded. The shockwave sent me tumbling backwards in the air, trying to wipe lizard guts off me.  
_Oooookaaay... Exploding bat-geckos... That's new._  
Finishing my rounds, I headed back to the house, and I smiled. I took a deep breath and, _whoosh_! I was instantly going over 200 miles per hour, and I had to stop before even a whole minute passed, but it was still exhilarating. Fang was waiting for me at the front door.

Fang's POV

I see Max coming, and lean in the doorframe.  
"Hey." She said as she lands on the cliff edge, and jogs up to me.  
"Hey." I said back. Then we just stood there. It was _really_ akward.  
"So..." Max murmured, breaking the silence. "Coral?"  
"Fine." I responded, sticking true to my one word answers. "You?"  
"Uhhh... Exploding bat-geckos." She said with a strait face.  
I looked at her like she had three heads. She shrugged.  
"You know what? That doesn't even surprise me." I said flatly. Max rolled her eyes and entered the house.  
_Exploding bat-geckos!? What?!_  
"Lunch!" I heard Iggy yell from inside, and closed the door behind me.

Coral's POV  
"So Coral," Nudge asked. "How old are you? I'm eleven."  
"Thirteen" I murmured through a mouth full of grilled cheese. Everyone looked at Nudge.  
What?  
"That has to be the shortest thing I've ever heard Nudge say." Puffed Iggy, who reminded me of a chipmunk with his cheeks stuffed like that.  
I giggled. "Iggy you look like a chipmunk."  
Gazzy laughed as Iggy instantly swallowed everything in his mouth.  
"You know, you don't act thirteen." Chirped Nudge. "Angel doesn't act seven, but in a totally different way. She's all like, yeah I'm seven but I can rule the world. But your all, I'm thirteen, but I interact with fifteen year olds as of I were the same age. It's really weird how one thing can mean so many different things! Max is only fifteen but she acts like a mom. Even to us who aren't that much younger than she is and-"  
"Nudge..." Max groaned and she quieted.  
"Hey, I know I'm not supposed to ask," I say cautiously. "But why do you call him the Gasm-"  
**Blaaaaaart!**  
"That's why." Iggy croaked, holding his nose.  
I can't even describe the smell. It was sooooo gross. I actually passed out. No kidding.  
When I woke up, Nudge, Iggy and Gazzy were hanging over my head.  
"Coral?" Iggy questioned, spraying F-breeze in my face.  
"Iggy! Stop!" I coughed, choking on the fragrant mist. "What was that?!"  
Gazzy laughed. "That's my power! Awesome, right?"  
"Ummm... no." I answered. "Noctious gasses that come from your rear?! Sooo gross."  
Iggy held out his hand for me, and I took it. He pulled me up and I nearly went flying.  
"Wow. You are really light." Then he touched my face. I nearly recoiled, but remembered he was blind. He laughed. "Wow. I think pink is your color."  
I was confused for a moment, untill I realized I was blushing.  
_Embarrassing._  
"Iggy can feel colors! Isn't that cool?" Nudge exclaimed with high enthusiasm.  
"Way cool." I answered. "Watch this!" Opened my eyes really wide and started flickering the color randomly.  
"Whoa!" Gasman breathed, obviously impressed.  
"What? What?" Iggy asked, annoyed.  
"There's so many colors!" Nudge squealed. "Iggy, her eyes! She's changing them so fast I can't keep up!"  
"Thanks for the visual display. Want me to poke your eye to see it?" He responded, irritation showing obvious in his tone.  
"Whatever, Iggy. Don't be a party pooper." Gazzy said, then added, "any other tricks?"  
"Ummm..." I thought for a moment. "I can do headlights!"  
All three of them looked at me, confused. "Headlights?" Gazzy inquired.  
"You'll see."  
Then I bit my lip, concentrating hard. I closed my eyes. I felt energy flow to them, and I wiggled my eyebrows for show. Nudge and Gazzy laughed. I flicked open my eyes and blue light instantly flowed out of them. The whites of my eyes were aglow with pure energy, sending a bright light throughout the room.  
"No Way!" Exclaimed Gazzy, and Nudge squealed with delight.  
"Iggy! Iggy!" She squeaked. "Her eyes lit up! It's all blue and the whole room just got really bright! That is so cool!"  
Iggy looked impressed. I blinked rapidly, creating instant strobe lights. The edges of exhaustion began to seep into my veins, and I let the light fade, breathing heavily.  
"Awww, why'd you stop?" Gazzy whined and I chuckled.  
"Sorry Gaz. That's really tiring." I answered, and we walked into the living room together. I think I may fit in here after all. Max is sitting on the couch. She turns and scowls at me.  
_Maybe I spoke too soon._  
"Where's Angel?" Nudge asked. "I wanna ask her opinion on theses new shoes I got the other day."  
"Dunno." Fang answers,who was _invisible_ on the couch just a minute ago, and I started. He smirked and sat very still, disappearing again, right before my eyes.  
"Does he... Do that often?" I asked, sorta freaked.  
Just then, little miss mind reader made her appearance. She noded, smiling an angelic smile at me.  
_So cute._  
Fang reappeared, amused at my reaction to his ability. I knew he didn't trust me, but he didnt show it as much as Max, and I appreciated that. I did a half scowl, half smile, which I was extremely good at. He just smirked and layed back. Max was watching him, an edge of worry in her gaze. I didn't see anything wrong. I wonder what it was.

Max's POV  
Fang was acting totally normal. Except for one thing. He was sitting back on the couch. Someone who didnt know Fang as well as me would see nothing wrong. But I know Fang, and Fang hardly ever sits on the couch. Much less _relaxes_ on the couch. He was always leaning against some wall or doorframe, silently alert. The only thing normal about his current position was the silent part. I stared at him, trying to decipher any other differences.  
"Max, stop staring. Your gonna burn a hole in my shirt." He murmured without even opening his eyes.  
I blinked, and felt my cheeks redden. He opened one eyes and looked at me.  
"Aww, look. Maxie was caught staring at the guy she looooooves." He smirked. "Thiiiiiiis much." **(A/N: this is a reference from when Max was trying to get that chip out and was drugged. In case you didn't know.)**  
I slugged him. "Go take a shower pretty boy. You smell like old cheese."  
A look of uncertainty crossed his face, but it was gone so fast I wondered If I imagined it. He hauled himself up from the couch, and wobbled a bit before taking a few slow steps. Then he stopped.  
"Fang?" I said nervously, as did Nudge and, of all people, Coral. He took a few more steps, so he was in the doorway, and grabbed a hold of the frame to steady himself.  
"Fang, what's wrong? You'd better tell me or I'll-"  
"I'm fine." He muttered. Right before sunk to the ground, and sat heavily.  
Nudge was the only person in position to see his face, and she sounded scared when she whispered, "Fang?"  
"I'm fine." He muttered again, but now I was seriously not buying it. Cause I totally was before. _Not_.  
I rushed over to him to help, and so did Coral. I gave her a scowl. I hated her the most, and she had to sleep in _my_ room. Great.  
"Yeah, your totally fine." I said sarcastically. "Says the guy who could barely stand up, then just sat down in the door way. And you did that cause your 'fine'. Yeah right."  
"Max, stop fussing. I'm...really...fine." Then he just fell asleep. Not passed out. Just... Asleep. Weird.  
I started to pick him up, and Coral reaced over to help me. I slapped her hand away. She looked taken aback.  
"Don't you dare touch him. I know what you're doing." I growled, only loud enough for her to hear, then louder I said, "Iggy, Fang just fell asleep, can you help me get him to his room?"  
"Fell asleep?" He chuckled. "Fang?"  
"Iggy!" I snapped, and he instantly realized I wasn't kidding and came over to us, following my voice. We each put an arm under his knees and and an arm behind his back, making a sort of chair thingy. Carrying him up the stairs, we opened the second door to the left, (with our elbows. Complicated process. I won't bore you with the details.) and placed him in his bed. Pulling the covers over him, I smiled, despite my worry, at his peaceful face. It was very un-Fang like.

Fang's POV  
_No! I am NOT asleep. I can hear you! But I can't... Move. Holy crap. _  
I was weak before but this is...is... Freaky. I did a quick self check. Still can't move. Eyes closed. Breathing even. Completely like sleeping. I hated this feeling. A lot. It was like I was me, but I wasn't attached to my body, like, nothing I did responded with it. I could still feel stuff though. And I was really hot. Not good looking hot. Hot, hot. Like, sweaty and uncomfortable, hot.  
Honestly, I would really prefer being attacked by a bunch of erasers who hadn't been fed in three days.  
"Awww... He's so cute when he's sleeping." I heard Max croon, and chuckled on the inside.  
_Note to self: tease Max about that later._  
I heard Max leave. This. Was. Really. Boring. I. Need. To. Move.  
Sooner or later, I actually did fall asleep, thanks to sheer boredom.  
I dreamed about Max.

**hope you liked the sweet little ending there. It made me smile. Oh, and about the exploding bat-gecko thingies, this won't be the last time you see them. Please review! :)**


	6. Odd happenings: Part 2

******so, hey! another update! Yay! This one's not really long, but its not short either so... Whatever. You know, average. Hey, for anyone wondering, there will be romance between Coral and another character, but the 'who' is a surprise! There are a lot of mysteries when it comes to Coral, but all will be clear soon. Promise. My thanks to:**

**reading addicted**** (haha! No they're not UV lights! Coral's eyes are just totally awesome like that. And I'm new to this so I don't really know what an Iggy/OC is. Sorry :/ And thanks a whole bunch for reviewing!)**

**Odd Happenings: part 2**

Fang's POV

When I woke up, I could move.  
_hooray!_  
It was great. Except for, you know, feeling like jello that had been sitting in the sun too long. As in, weak, pale, and really, really hot. I felt my forehead, and instantly pulled my hand back, stinging pain shooting through my hand.  
_ow. What the heck?_  
I looked down at my hand, to see that I _burned_ it. It was red. And it really, really hurt.  
I pressed it to my chest with my non-burned hand and got up slowly. Wobbling to the doorway, I heard Max yelling downstairs.  
"think I don't know what's going on here? First those weird lizard things, then Fang, and now Nudge?" She sounded outraged.  
_Nudge? What happened to Nudge?!_  
I half walked, half stumbled to the stair railing, and used it to hold myself up. looking down, I saw Max yelling at a scared and confused Coral, Iggy and Gazzy trying to comfort an obviously freaked out Nudge, and Angel looking up at me.  
"Fang. You woke up." She chirped, the only happy person in the room.  
Five more heads swiveled up to see me and I waved meekly.  
"Fang!" Max said, sounding relieved.  
"How long was I out?" I croaked.  
Iggy smirked, but still managed to look a little concerned. "Two days."  
_Two days?_  
"Yup." Answered Angel, and I started trying to make my way down the stairs.  
Max hopped up the stars with ease and gaped when she saw my hand.  
"Fang! Your hand! How could you have-"  
"Dunno." I interrupted. "Just happened."  
"I couldn't have 'just happened'. Now tell me."  
Angel looked at me, surprised. "He did like this." She answered for me, then put her hand to her forehead, demonstrating.  
Everyone looked confused.  
"You burned your hand by touching your forehead?" Gazzy inquired.  
I shrugged, and Max reached foreward to feel my head. I ducked,out of the way, then fell, a result of my oddly weak muscles.  
"Well don't try it." I said in a 'no duh' tone.  
"Could it be fever?" Coral asked, sounding worried, and Max glared at her.  
"That high?" Iggy answered.  
"Well, we aren't exactly average joes" Gazzy pointed out, and looked up at me.  
"I do feel really warm." I murmured, though not exactly helping.  
"You don't say." Max said sarcastically, raising her eyebrows.  
_Oh gosh... This heat is unbearable._  
Angel looked at me quizzically, then did a half giggle. "Can we put a match to his forehead to see if it lights?"  
We all looked at her, and Gazzy laughed.  
Can you guess who hasn't said one word? You guessed it.  
"Nudge?" I questioned from my sitting place on the stairs.  
"I can't... Can't feel them... It's so... Quiet..." She muttered, then turned to me, and practically screeched. "FANG! FANG IT'S SO QUIET! IT'S NOT THERE! I CAN'T FEEL THEM! WHERE DID THEY GO! WHERE DID THEY GO! NOTHING THERE!"  
"Nudge, sweetie, we know, we know. It's not there. Please calm down." Max cooed, the looked at me and added quietly, "since yesterday, she's been having fits about something not being there. We don't know what she's talking about."  
"Can't Angel read her mind and tell us?" I asked.  
"I can't." Angel murmured. "The only thing in her mind is, 'they're not there! It's so quiet! I can't feel them!' It's really weird."  
Nudge was muttering quietly to herself. "So quiet. I can't feel them."  
This _is_ starting to look suspicious. All these weird things only three days after a strange girl shows up at our house? I glare at Coral, and she looks at her feet.  
"Max?" I said, and she looked at me.  
"What?"  
"I'm sitting on the stairs."  
"No duh, Sherlock." She retorted, but helped me down the stairs to the couch across from Nudge's chair.  
I sat slowly, and leaned back, closing my eyes.  
And instantly _set the entire couch on fire._  
"HOLY CRAP!" Shrieked Max, yanking me off the flaming fabric.  
Gazzy grabbed the fire extinguisher we always kept handy after the exploding cheez-whiz incident. Long story. He ripped off the safety and started spraying down the flaming couch, making loud fire truck noises.  
"Wee-ooo, wee-oooo, wee-ooo"  
"Stop it Gazzy!" Max yelled. "You got it! You're just ruining the couch now!" He let go of the trigger thingy and cackled wickedly.  
"That was soo awesome!" He laughed. "Iggy was that you?! How did you do that!?"  
Iggy smiled. "No, I thought it was you! Fang, did you do that?! It sounded totally wicked! Gaz, descrbe!"  
"Well, Fang sat down on the couch and layed his head back, then the instant he closed his eyes, WHOOSH! The whole stinki'n couch lit on fire! Not like, little stove-top fire, like a ginormous Bon-fire! It was way cool! Fang how'd you do that?!"  
I shrugged, looking at my burned hand.  
_What the heck just happened?_

Coral's POV

_HOLY CAFFINATED SQUIRRELS! Fang just lit the couch on fire!_  
Why do these things happening?! And why does Max think I'm responsible?  
Speak of the devil, she turned around to glare at me. "I CAN'T BELEIVE YOU! ALL THESE THINGS KEEP HAPPENING AND YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO ACT ALL INNOCENT! IM NOT STUPID Y'KNOW! IF I DIDN'T HAVE FANG AND NUDGE TO WORRY ABOUT I WOULD SO BE KICKING YOUR STUPID BUTT RIGHT NOW!"  
I could practically see horns sprouting from her head.  
_Maybe she's also 2% demon._  
I saw Angel stifle a laugh. Y'know, Max she's a lot scarier when she's icily calm.  
"I'm just as freaked out as you are, _Max_, and I'll have you know, it doesn't feel good to be blamed for everything just because you're new! I'm only thirteen you know, and sometimes I just wish people would stop treating me like I was..." My voice quieted.  
_That person I used to be. The one I was before... Before... Before I..._  
I couldn't even continue in my thoughts.  
Max looked furious. Angel looked puzzled. Nudge looked freaked. The guys were still talking about the furnuriture explosion.  
Then there was me, who was staring at her feet blankly. On the inside though, I was crying. I was angry, and sad, and traumatized.  
And terrified.  
Of myself.

**Sooooo many secrets! I'm dying to just tell everyone but it has to wait! Grrrrrr. Review! I also accept criticism! I love tips!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for not updating as soon as I usually do, but I was experiencing a mild case of writer's block. :/ I would have posted this earlier today, but I was out playing whirly ball with my parents and their friends. i didnt expect it to be as fun as it was! anyway- I don't own Maximum Ride! My thanks to:**

**reading addicted (thanks a lot for reviewing! I've never read Soul Eater, but I may try it now. And thanks for the info on Iggy/OC stories! I read your story, A Leap of Faith, and I liked it! Anyone reading this should check it out!)**

**Live Laugh Play Music (thanks for following! And you're an amazing poet btw!)**

**P.S. the title of this chapter is, as usual, written below. But the reason the chapter select thingy says chapter 7 is because the title as too long to fit. Hahah!**

**Who are you and what'd you do with Angel?**

Max's POV  
"Nudge, Nudge sweetie. Please. Calm down. Can you tell us what's not there?" I cooed, rubbing her back.  
"THEM! EVERYTHING! THEY'RE NOT THERE!" She had tears streaking down her face.  
"Angel?" I asked. "Anything?"  
She shook her head. Then added, "wait. She just thought, 'no one has feelings!' I still don't know what it means."  
Nudge's tears slowed, and she shuddered. "Max...Max... No one has feelings... No one was here... They're not... Not there."  
I sighed. "Nudge, we're all here. We all have feelings."  
"NO YOU DONT MAX! THEY'RE NOT THERE!"  
_Wait... My feelings... Aren't there. Nudge's... Nudge's power! She can feel leftover emotions and things! That's it!_  
"Angel!" I gasped, and she looked at me, appalled. "Fang!"  
"WHAT?" He snapped, and I rolled my eyes.  
After the couch incident, he tried eating, and disintegrated three pieces of toast in his hands before he gave up. Then later, when his temp went down to about 103, he tried again and it just, uh, came right back up, so he was kinda grumpy.  
"Nudge's power! Sensing emotions and leftover, uh, vibrations and stuff! She just said that my feelings were'nt there! She must not be able to sense them!"  
"IT'S SO QUIET! WHY CAN'T I FEEL THEM? WHERE DID THEY GO?"  
"Nudge... Is it your power? Is it not working?"  
She quieted. "Max... Max... Why did it go away? The world feels so empty."  
We were all shocked. This was the only thing in the past day that Nudge had said that wasn't screamed at the top of her lungs or muttered to herself.  
"Oh, Nudge." I murmured, at a loss for words. But I was the leader, the invincible Max, so I had to say something. "It'll be back. It'll be back, and in the meantime why don't we get some ice-cream and, uh, you can give Iggy a head to toe makeover."  
"Really?" She said, looking up at me with big brown eyes.  
"WHAT?!" Iggy cried, choking on his soda.  
I gave him a say-anything-and-I'll-break-your-neck look.  
"Really." I told her, and was rewarded with a weak smile. "Fang? Wanna try your luck with some ice-cream?"  
He grumbled, but followed us Into the kitchen.

Fang's POV

The ice-cream was _so good._ Did I mention that mint chocolate chip is my all time favorite flavor?  
Max laughed as Gazzy tried to lick ice-cream off his nose. Nudge was commenting on Iggy's dyed blonde hair, and Angel was telling Coral some funny story. I even thought I was feeling ok. That proves it. Ice-cream makes everything better.  
But, as all good things in our miserable lives, it had to come to an end. Our windows crashed open, and those weird gecko things that Max was describing spilled into our kitchen. There had to be at least forty of them, slithering around on the floor, flying in the air, and crawling all over us.  
We were instantly buried in a sea of wiggling bodies. I kept punching them, but in my state, it hardly did anything.  
I saw Max take out a few using her wings, and I copied, only managing to stun them.  
"FANG!" I heard a screech behind me. I insantly whipped around, and stumbled, to see Angel pinned to the wall by about ten of them. They crawled over her, and I couldn't see her anymore. I could feel the ugly things fiercely biting my ankles, but I ignored the pain, wading through the ocean of creatures to her. I started trying to rip the geckos off her, but I was useless.  
I heard a muffled, weak sound from the mound. "Fang..."  
For some reason this triggered something inside me. All the weakness and stifling heat drained from my body in an instant. I punched one of the creatures, and it screeched, dropping to the floor in agony. I turned back to the pile, expecting it to come back, but it didnt. I would have checked it out, but Angel depended on me right now.  
"Get. Off. Angel. You. Stupid. Lizards." I grunted, grabbing them and throwing them aside. I saw a strand of curly blonde hair, and dug faster. I caught sight her arm and grabbed it, yanking her out of the mound of geckos. She gasped, sucking in precious air. Angel looked around, shocked, then gaped at me.  
_What?_  
I looked around. On the floor around us, lay a scattering of writhing bat-geckos, all with scorch marks and burns around their torsos where I had grabbed them. I stared down at my hands and inwardly smiled.  
_Looks like someone developed a new skill._  
I started griping the lizards near Max, sending them to the ground screeching. Then all was quiet. I gazed around the room. Most of the creatures were dying or dead on the ground, but some of them were just standing there. An odd hissing noise filled the room, and Max sucked in a breath.  
"Duck and cover!" She yelled, and we all obeyed instantly.  
I dropped to the ground and rolled under the table next to Nudge, sheltering my head with my hands.  
Boom!  
The whole room shook, and was instantly coated in a layer of guts and dust. It wasnt a huge explosion, and it wasnt fiery or anything, but it was enough to collapse the table on top of me and Nudge.  
"Ow." Murmured Nudge.  
"Report!" Yelled Max.  
"Okay." I responded.  
"Good here." Croaked Nudge.  
Iggy had a deep looking cut on his leg, but he was standing. "Fine."  
"I'm okay. And so is Angel." I heard Gazzy breath behind me, and Max let,out a relieved puff of air.  
_One missing._  
Coral stood up shakily and nodded. Not that Max cared.

Max's POV  
Everyone was OK. That was good. Now there was the matter of our kitchen. It was awful. All the dishes were strewn across the room and broken, the table and chairs were ruined by the explosion, and now we needed to replace the window. Great.  
Angel looked at me, and for once, she actually looked like a seven year old. To tell you the truth, it actually scared me a little.  
"Max... That was really scary." She murmured, and grabbed hold of my leg.  
"Oh, Angel." I cooed, soothing her.  
For the next hour, I tended to minor injuries, and Angel stayed right by my side the whole time. She never responded to any random thoughts she picked up. She never said anything prophetic, and she never once acted older than her age. Most would take it as a blessing, but the only thing running through my head the whole time was,  
_Who are you and what did you do with Angel?_

**hmmmm... I'm not sure about this chapter, but I guess it's ok. I just wanna thank all my viewers again! I never thought people would actually be reading my story, so you guys make me sooooo happy! Please please please review! :)**


	8. A Tattoo?

**Hey y'all! I'm back with another chapter! I don't own Maximum Ride. I was kinda off my game when I wrote this, so it's not all that great. Really. Not my finest work. But it'll do. My thanks to my only reviewer:**

**reading addicted**** (you make me soooooo happy! The thing about Nudge's powers: it amazes me that you manage to think through my story more than I do! And have a lovely day! *wink, wink*)**

**A Tattoo?**

Max's POV

I know that Nudge is who I should be worried about, but Angel is seriously freaking me out. Not normal freaked out. Weird freaked out. She was acting... Like a real seven year old.  
Freaky, huh?  
It was like she didnt experience the last year of our life. She acted like she didnt understand romance, didnt see why she couldn't go play with anything she wanted (including a certain bomb I wasn't happy to find out about.), didnt know the secrets to the universe, and, you know, control people. She just told me she wanted to be a fairy when she grows up. Yeah. Angel said that. No kidding.  
"Fang." I muttered, after sending Angel off to play. "What's up with Angel?"  
He thought about it for a moment, then smirked. "Maybe she ate your cooking and is suffering from lack of nutrition."  
I scowled at him. "I'm serious. She's acting like a... A normal person."  
"Maybe we should have a closer look."  
So now we were spying on Angel. Great Idea. I know, but you got any better ones?

Fang's POV

Apperently, according to Max, 'spying' meant me sitting completely still and invisible for hours, watching Angel play tea party.  
Do little girls ever do interesting stuff? At least if I were spying on The Gasman, I could see some stuff blow up, but this like watching grass grow. Extremely boring, and _never_ ends.  
"Alright Mr. Fluffy, one sugar or two?"  
I groan silently. I've heard this sentence twelve times already. I got bored so I started counting.  
"Oh hi Coral! Would you like to join my tea party?"  
That one was new. Coral smiled and shook her head.  
"Sorry Ange. I just wanted some advice. Max and Fang think I'm responsible for all this stuff happening." She already knows Angel is on her side, and that she can give her advice. Smart girl. "You know it wasnt me right?"  
"No." She chirps. "I know it wasnt you cause you're nice. And you smell like flowers."  
Ok... That's definitely not like Angel.  
Coral looked surprised. "Oh ok. I'll see you later."  
"Wait! Please play princess with me! You can do my hair and we can play dress up!"  
"Uh... Ok."  
_This is going to be good._

Coral's POV

_Holy space tacos. This girl has a lot of princess dresses._  
"I like this one!" She giggled, holding up a green 'princess Tiana' dress she pulled out of a treasure trunk. "Do you have a dress?"  
"No..." I murmured, as she slipped the froufrou thing on over her clothes.  
"You have to have a dress!" She squeaked excitedly. "We can borrow one from Max."  
"No, Ange, I don't think that's a good idea. Max already doesn't like me... I just... Uh... I don't think so."  
She pouted. "Where else are we gonna get a dress? Oh! I know! We can get one from Nudge!"  
"Oh...uh..." I searched my brain for reasons not to wear a dress. "I'm, uhh, not sure I'll fit."  
She looked at me skeptically. "You're only..." She stopped to count on her fingers. "Two years older!"  
I sighed. "Alright. Fine."  
So Angel grabbed my hand and pulled me into the closet. One half was full of little girl's clothes, the other was full of stylish teen clothing and accessories.  
I whistled. How do they have so many clothes?  
"How about this one?" She asked, showing me a pretty yellow sun dress. It didnt go really well with my light brown hair, but I went with it. I started to slip the dress on over my t-shirt and jeans, but Angel interrupted.  
"Wait! Can you put my hair in a ponytail first? Or a bun? Or a braid?"  
"Alright." I sighed. I grabbed a pink scrunchie off the cluttered desk, and started trying to wrangle her hair. I grabbed it all in one hand, and started to wrap the scrunchie around it, when I spotted something on the back of Angel's neck. I saw black tattooed lettering, and nearly fell backwards, dropping her hair. I started breathing heavily, and my heart skipped several beats. I barely noticed when Fang gasped and reappeared behind me.  
_Could that be an... Expiration date?_

**hmmmm... Hope you enjoyed the little cliffs there. Dunn-dun-DUUUN! Hehehe. BTW, there are going to be two more mutant characters in this book, both boys, and I was thinking of the names Zhone and Cork. If you guys have any other suggestions for names, I wanna hear them! Please review. :)**


	9. So that's why you're acting weird

**Hey! It's me again! Don't own Maximum Ride! Although... If you think about it, that would be kinda obvious since this is a FAN FICTION site, but whatever. This chapter is kinda short. Sorry bout that. My complete thanks to:**

**reading addicted (****Zhone is pronounced zone. I just added the "h" cause it looked cool. I like the name Kele, but the two new guys aren't bird kids. Thanks for reviewing!)**

**BirdKid13 ****(all your questions are answered in this chapter! Yay! Thanks!)**

**User user ****(its been forever since I herd from you! Where've you been? Whatever! I'm just so happy you reviewed! This is my happy face: XD)**

**So that's why you're acting weird.**

Fang's POV  
I gasped.  
_No. No no no no no no. This can't happen._  
I jumped foreward, pushing Coral, who was staring at Angel unable to move, out of the way.  
"MAX!" I yelled. I know. Very un-Fang like, but this situation called for it.  
Grabbing Angel's golden hair, I looked nervously at the back of her neck. She looked scared. I was twitchy and panicky, and hoping the date wasnt there. I flipped down her collar to find... Something possibly worse.  
Right below the collar of Angels green dress were the words:  
**Subject 11- duplicate. Handle with care.**  
_She's a... She's a CLONE!_  
I immediatley grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back making her cry out in surprise.  
"Where's Angel?" I growled.  
Max ran into the room, saw me and the clone, and yelled.  
"Fang! What are you doing! That's Angel!"  
I wordlessly turned down the green fabric, revealing the dreaded words. Trembling, Coral blinked and swallowed. Max gasped, then stalked up to the wide-eyed seven year old.  
"Where. Is. Angel?"  
"I'm Angel!" She cried, actual tears falling down her cheeks.  
Max scowled, and yelled. "Iggy! Two ropes! Angel's room! NOW!"  
Within thirty seconds, he appeared on the scene, holding two sturdy ropes, looking confused. Within thirty more seconds, Angel's clone and Coral were both tied to the posts of Nudge's canopy bed.  
"Why am I tied up?!" Coral struggled against the ropes, but it was in vain. "I didnt do anything!"  
Max scowled, again. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing."  
Nudge and Gazzy rushed in, staring, appalled at the scene before them.  
"What are you doing! Why are Angel and Coral tied up? How come you're all in my room? What's going on? Max why do you look so-"  
Gazzy clapped a hand over Nudge's mouth.  
Max stared down the bird kids tied to the bedposts. "Because, Nudge. This isn't Angel. She's a clone, and I know Coral is responsible."

Coral's POV

"Guys! Why do you think I'm to blame? I'm... I'm just as sh... Shocked as you are! And I-"  
"Can it, newbie!" Max snapped, and I quieted. "I'm not gonna waste time on you."  
"Then why am I tied up?" I asked desperately, the ropes rubbing uncomfortably against my arms.  
She ignored me. "Where. Is. Angel?"  
The clone whimpered. "I... I don't know... I know that they kidnapped her..." She stopped, as if scared to go on.

_Hmmmm..._

"Anything else?" Fang growled, and I kinda felt bad for the clone. She really is only seven after all.

"I..., I recently got news she escaped." She squeaked. "That's all I know!"  
A spark of hope showed on all our faces, and the little girls breathing became quick. I looked at her curiously. Her pupils dilated, and a hissing noise stared up, seemingly coming from her chest.

_Oh no..._

She screamed, and her body ripped apart in all directions. The explosion sent all of us stumbling backwards. Except for me. Since I was, you know, tied up.  
"Oh eeeeeew! Grooooooss! Gross, gross, gross! Ew! Ew! Ew! That is so gross!" Nudge shrieked as she was sprayed with bird-kid innards.  
"Ok. Ew." Max muttered. "Everyone go shower. Fang and I will clean up this mess, then we need to find Angel."  
"Holy flaming cow patties..." I breathed. "What's with these scientists and exploding mutants? Can I be untied now?"  
Max groaned, but untied the ropes, and told me to shower. So I did. It felt amazing.

Max's POV

_Angel... My baby. We already lost her once. Now she's gone again._  
"Fang..." I whispered, as I rubbed the desk with a rag.  
He nodded, understanding. "It'll be ok. We got her back last time. We can do it again."  
We were silent for a moment. I noticed Fang standing really close. Normally, it would be really akward, but right now it felt kinda... Nice.  
"We're gonna get her back." I murmured, and my voice only shook a little. I was glad Fang was the only one here.  
Because if the others were here, we wouldn't have kissed right then.  
It felt so good. We hadn't kissed in a long time. It wasnt like usual though. This was gentle, and soft. He kissed me as if he were afraid that I would break, and I think I just might have. We stood there for what felt like ages, but we separated, reluctant to let go. My cheeks turned pinkish, but I really didnt care. All that mattered was getting Angel back. And Fang. Also Fang. He mattered too. A lot.  
He flashed me one of his rare smiles, and the room brightened about ten shades.  
"She's not a baby anymore. She'll be fine untill we get to her, and then we can kick some serious whitecoat butt."  
"I know." I breathed.  
Here we go again.

**Angel is not gonna die! whoo-hoo! Maybe. Hope you liked the ending! I bet it made you Fax fans happy! Review! It helps me update faster! :)**


	10. Search

**hey! I'm sooooo sorry for the wait! Really really sorry!**

**me: Nudge! Tell them how sorry I am.**

**Nudge: *spreads wings* Actress4TheLord is ****_thiiiis_**** sorry for not updating! Though, I think Fang's wings would be a more appropriate display, but I heard them talking, and Fang was all, "no way. I am not helping you explain how sorry you are for something that was ****_completely your fault._****" I think that was a little harsh, considering she had company over, but Fang will be Fang, and that was a really long sentence for him. Did you notice tha-**

**Me: *claps hand over Nudge's mouth* I think they get it! Moving on!**

** I don't own Maximum Ride! My mysterious O/C's are making their appearance in this chapter! And don't hate me for the end! My thanks to:**

**Reading addicted**** (yes, the Nudge thing has something to do with vibrations, but that is for later! And yeah. Exploding clone. Gross, but interesting.)**

**User user ****(oooo, vacation. Fun. And I really, really, really like your story, "life, my battle field." Keep reviewing!)**

**BirdKid13 (yeah! Go Faxness! And yeah. Totally gruesome death. No, not a robot. Just a really gross death for a tortured seven year old. Poor kid.)**

**Kadoodles (thanks for favoriting!)**

** now on to the story!**

**Search**

Max's POV

"Ok, guys. I think we should head in the direction of the school, but if she escaped, she's probably gonna be in close town. Lets look on the map."  
One problem. I stink at reading maps. Especially while flying, when the stupid piece of paper is flapping around in the wind like, uh, paper in the wind. In the end, we just picked a random little dot near where we think is the school.  
Somehow, Nudge had regained her powers the minute we left the house. We had out packs all ready, and Nudge leaned against a tree. She screamed so loud Gazzy actually jumped ten feet in the air. Wings make that possible. So yeah. Weird.  
We landed there around four, (in the afternoon. Not morning. Who wakes up they early?) and landed quietly on the outskirts of the teeny town.  
"Guys. First we check the forests. Then we slowly move into town. Checking every allyway, every shop, every street. Got it?"  
I got nods in return.  
"If we split up, we could do it faster." I scowled at Coral's input.  
"We never split up. Got that?" I growled, satisfied by Coral's reaction as she stared nervously at her feet.  
We did exactly as planned. And nothing. No Angel.  
Next town.  
No Angel.  
Next town.  
Still no Angel.  
"We're never gonna find her!" Cried Gazzy, distressed.  
"We'll find her. We still have two more towns to go, then, if she's not there, we go to New York. That's the only other place I can think of."  
We flew south of the school, and landed quickly, going through the routine. We were searching the little forest area outside the town when Fang stopped dead.  
I looked at him quizzically, and he put one finger to his lips and pointed to the sky. A little ways ahead of us was a massive black chopper.  
_Crap_.  
A rope latter fell from the heli, and six armed men and about ten of those gecko-things, which we had'nt come up with a name for yet, descended.  
"Yes. We have located subject eleven. It is near here. We have no exact coordinates, but it can't be far."  
_Angel!_  
The others looked at me with an odd mix of hope and dread. I put two fingers behind my back, out signal for "wait." The men began to move forward, away from us, making enough noise to scare away the whole forest.  
"Now." I whispered, barely audible.  
We lunged foreward, grabbing at the humans. The man I landed on let out a satifying oof before I punched him square in the face, breaking his nose. Nudge was sitting on some guy's shoulders, her legs wrapped around his neck, screeching and pulling his hair like a crazed monkey. I couldn't help but laugh. Gasser was grappling with one of those geckos, drilling out kicks and punches faster that Omega's eyes could follow. **(A/N: If you don't remember Omega, that's just sad. If you do, thumbs up! Omega was one of my fav JP mutants.)**  
_That's my boy._  
"Eat fist, you dirty rotten scum sucking Angel stealing jerks!" I heard Iggy yell, and knew he was just fine.  
Fang was right beside me, and Coral was... _In a tree_. She was shaking, and her eyes were wide with fear. I rolled my eyes inwardly. Sissy. We could win without her.  
I landed a roundhouse kick on a man's chest, and I think I broke one of his ribs.  
"Retreat! The subject is not worth our effort!" One yelled, and the humans quickly disappeared into the chopper, leaving the few remaining geckos to blow up in our faces.  
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm starting to get tired of things exploding in my face." I muttered.  
"Gross..." Nudge squeaked.  
Yeah. Gross is right.  
"Coral, what are you doing?" Gazzy was looking up into the tree.  
"It... It's... I... B..." She stuttered.  
I sighed. "Get out of the tree, nutcase."  
She started to climb down, but her shirt fabric caught on the branch. She tried to yank it free, and stumbled, falling out of the tree onto her rear. I snickered.  
She groaned, but then blinked, and resumed her wide eyed expression.  
"What's with her?" Fang whispered.  
I shrugged.

Coral's POV  
I was dreading every step. I had seen Angel. She was a little ways off, oblivious to the fight happening. I also saw who she was with. Just thinking about it made my heard stop, threatening to consume me. That's why I was in that tree. They were'nt enemies. No, not even in the slightest. But every step in their direction brought more pain from the past with it. I knew I needed to tell them I saw Angel. I took a deep breath.  
"A... Angel. I saw... Angel." I choked out.  
"You did what? And you've been sitting on this? Take us to her!" Iggy yelled, showing a mix of happiness and outrage.  
I squeaked. "Ok."  
My brain went on overdrive.  
_Angel. Bats. Sparks. School. Past. Blood. Blood. Blood. Pain. Never. Never again. Never again. _  
"Hey! Earth to Coral! Hey!" Max huffed, snapping her fingers inches from my face. "Angel! Now!"  
I nodded, breathing heavily. Cold sweat dampened my palms and the back of my neck, and I slowly walked toward the spot I saw. First there was a clearing. In the center of the clearing was evidence of a fire. Around it were three people. The first was Angel. She didnt look well. Her feathers were limp and dirty, and she seemed to shiver a little. The second was Fang's age. He looked normal. He had shaggy silver hair, he was average height for his age, and... And every once and a while you could see static sparks come off his hair. The third was my age. His yellow hoodie hid his head and his back, but I knew what was underneath. His long, fuzzy, chocolate brown hair. His large sensitive mutant ears. His furry bat-wings. I sucked in a pained breath. They all turned to us.  
Angel smiled weakly, but then she coughed, and Max rushed to her, cooing softly. The two boys turned to me, astonished.  
"Coral..." The bat-boy whispered.  
"You know them?" Fang questioned.  
"Have you... Who are these people? And why are you with them?" Murmured the silver haired boy.  
"Cork... This is... This is the flock... I live with them now. Angel didnt tell you?"  
"So her name is Angel. She wouldn't say a peep."  
Max smiled at Angel, looking proud.  
"Have you told them?" The bat-boy mouthed.  
I shook my head. "No... Zhone... It hurts... I told you and Cork, but..."  
"Told us what?" Max growled, glaring at me.  
_I guess I need to... But I... They can't know... I..._  
"Here goes..."

**I LOVE cliff hangers! Sorry bout that! *smiles wickedly* hope you like my O/C's! And if you have a name for the gecko things, put it in your reviews! Secrets revealed next chapter! Whoo hoo!**


	11. Hidden History

**Hello to my dedicated readers and new readers and moderate readers! I was feeling really inspired today so... Two updates in one day! Hooray! My thanks to:**

**Reading addicted ****(this is what the sparkles are. *action*. It's saying their actions. And love interests are my little secrets. ;D and I like 'sirens' isn't that the name of those mythical creatures that sing to lure sailors to their doom?)**

**User user ****( ALLSTATES! BAHAHAHAHAHA! That's hilarious! Keep reviewing)**

**Hidden History**

Coral's POV  
I gulped. Ok. Lets, uh, do this.  
"I was an experement like you, subject twenty-three. I was there untill you left. There were rumors of the flock. The other experiments said you guys escaped. Jeb was gone too, but when the exitement died down, all of us began to see the glass half empty again. we thought you died. Soon after, Cork and Zhone helped me bust out. We did ok, untill there was this fight. We were outnumbered. So many erasers. Whenever we wore some out, more would come. We got separated. I hoped they were okay, but my main concern was surviving. It was hard. There were always people after me. I always got beaten, or shot, or strangled, and I always came out of those situations wondering when the next one was coming, and whether or not I would survive. But I always did. And honestly, laying bleeding in an allyway, or sobbing quietly to myself all night, I would have preferred death. It would have come as a blessing. I know what you're thinking, it's better than the school. It's not. At the school, you don't starve to death. You don't go to bed every night wondering whether or not you'll be in the same place when you wake. You sleep in the same place every night. You eat stale bread and water, not rotting fruit and road kill cooked over a weak flame. I can't tell you how sick that makes you, but its better than starving. I was weak. Helpless. But then one day, when a man in a black mask was beating me, I just became so furious, thinking about the people at the school... All the innocent children... I just lost it. Remember that thing I did to Max? Well this was worse. I don't know how, but I somehow killed him. All I remember was blood, and the terrified look... Oh... The power... It just...it..." I started sobbing, unable to continue.  
"Coral, you don't have to keep going. It's ok." Cork murmured, rubbing my back, and the little sparks in his silvery hair were comforting somehow.  
"Yes. She does. I need to know everything." Max snarled, with no sympathy at all.  
_Angel... I know your not feeling good, but can you help me out here?_  
**_Yes. It's ok Coral. I can do it for you._**  
_Angel began broadcasting my memories to the others.  
The power just took over. I couldn't control myself. The next year was nothing but fuzzy images. Blood blood blood blood. So much of it. Terrified faces. Innocent faces. Anyone I could find. I loved the power. No shame. No guilt. Just the madness of complete control. I was wanted, the police were after me, but they never caught me. If they did... They never came back.  
I practically fed off their helplessness. Off their pleas for mercy. I loved it when they told me they had families, or people who depended on them. Then one day, I took it too far. I went strait for another mutant. I don't know his genetic mix. He had heavy duty claws, giant fangs, and the same fear I loved in his eyes. I almost had him. He struggled, and he won. His claws raked my stomach and chest. The pain alone was almost enough to kill me. I fought. I think I may have injured him enough to kill him in the end, but I really don't know. I was dizzy from severe blood loss and nauseated from pain. Then I blacked out. I lay there for a long time, but much to my dismay, I came to eventually. I don't remember anything but pain, but I didn't even have the strength to do anything but moan and clutch my bleeding wounds. I knew my time was coming. My breath was shallow, and my heartbeat was slowing. I thought, 'finally. I'm dying.' I wanted death. Desperately. And you know what?  
I got my wish.  
I died._  
"Stop!" Angel cried, tears streaking her face. "Can you tell the rest? I can't anymore."  
I nodded, but I was crying so hard, nothing but gasping sobs and shudders escaped my lips. I hated this. I hated this story, but letting it all out felt so good. It felt so wonderful and sad to finally just cry my eyes out, with Zhone on one side and Cork on the other.  
"I'll tell the rest. Kay?" Zhone whispered, and I managed to nod. "We... We found Coral's... Coral's body, and we were both so... So upset. She... Cork and Coral were my only friends in the whole world, and one of them was gone..."  
Now Zhone had silent tears staining his familiar cheeks.  
"We... We panicked... We thought there was nothing we could do. And we still don't know what exactly it was we did. There was a lot of screaming and zapping, but then all of a sudden her eyes twitched, and slight rise and fall of her chest returned. She was ill, weak, and confused, but we didnt care. We were happy anyway. She slowly regained her strength, and after about a month, she told us what had happened. From us being split up, to when she... D-died." He choked a bit, but kept going. "Afterwards, she looked so ashamed it took my breath away. We tried to tell her it wasn't her fault, that she couldn't control herself, but she still looked the same way. We didnt expect her to run away that night. We were so scared of what would happen. That she might get hurt. This was about a year and a half ago. Now she's back."  
Both he and Cork smiled at me. I didnt smile back, but I lay my head in Cork's lap and fell asleep.  
No dreams.  
No nightmares.  
Just peaceful sleep.  
I loved it.

**So now the secrets were revealed! Are you surprised? Review! XD**


	12. Authors note! Very important!

**Authors note!**

** ok, guys. Here's just a quick note. When I said coral was a 'pussy', I meant is as in a scaredy cat! Like pussy cat! I so did not know what that meant! so sorry! So sorry! I can't stress that enough! So so so so sorry! T.T - this is my crying face. So sorry. OhMygosh...**

** I'm fixing it RIGHT NOW.**


	13. New Members

**alright guys. This chapter is really short. It's mostly a filler cause I know constant updating is important to some people (including me). But whatever. My thanks to:**

**reading addicted**** and ****user user**** (thanks for reviewing! Keep'm coming!)**

**Now on to this not-that-great chapter. Hmmmmm...**

**New members**

Coral's POV  
I was so glad to have them back. Since I ran away, I felt like someone had chopped off my lefy wing and tied up my right arm. Lop-sided and restrained. But now, well, it was amazing. Cork was like my older brother, and Zhone like my best friend. Now if we could just convince Max...  
"No." She demanded coldly.  
"Aww c'mon Max..." Whined Iggy, who had taken a liking to Zhone. "This guy is way awesome! He has echolocation..."  
"No." She persisted. "I didnt even want this girl here, and now we find out she was some kind of serial killer, and you still want her and her friends here."  
I winced. Cork glared angrily at Max, but she could care less.  
"And she was brought back from the dead. Who should trust her? No one!"  
Now I bit my lip and looked at my shoes. Now Zhone clenched his fist, and Cork narrowed his eyes.  
"Max..." I muttered. "You probably shouldn't make Cork mad."  
Everyone just stared at me. My cheeks heated under their glares.  
"Wait... What's his genetic mix?" Iggy asked.  
Zhone stuck his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. "We're not entirely sure. We considered electric eel, but what kind of eel can do that?"  
Cork smirked. He snapped his fingers, and sparks flew. Then he proceeded to strike random body parts against each other, creating an array of sparks. They seemed impressed.  
"And that's not even the best part." I murmured.  
Cork placed his index and middle finger on top of his head, into his silver hair. Pulling them out, he moved them apart, creating a tazer thingy. It had the visible current of electricity and everything.  
"WHOA!" Exclaimed the Gasman, and Iggy responded enthusiastically.  
"What? What? What'd he do?"  
Gazzy quickly explained it, ang Ig smiled. "Cool."  
Max tapped her foot on the ground." And that one. He can't fly. How would we get him around?"  
Zhone smiled. "What's the little girls name again? Oh right, Angel. Angel, can you come here?"  
She looked up weakly, and I couldn't help but wonder what horrible things they did to her. She's normally so strong. Well, normal for the two weeks I've known her.  
"No." Max repeated, putting an arm up to stop Angel.  
"Awww... It's easy. C'mon... Don't be a party pooper."  
Max obviously didnt like the way Zhone talked back. Well get used to it, sister! Cause he aint leavin!  
Angel just pushed past Max, and over to Zhone.  
"Now, kid, all you gotta do is hold your arms out like this."  
Despite her condition, Angel managed to grin in surprise, obviously reading all of our minds, and put her arms out. Cork immediatly fell backwards, landing squarely in Angel's arms. Max gasped and lurched foreward to help Angel, but to her utter surprise, she could hold him almost with ease.  
"We're not really sure why," Cork explained. "But I'm extremely light. It doesn't effect my fighting much, and since I don't have wings, it comes in handy. Someone can carry me."  
Max growled at me. "Why don't you just unite your little trio and be on you're merry way! That would be so much better. I have my flock. I don't need you, bat-boy, or !"  
Iggy sighed in annoyance. "Max. Stop being so stubborn! We could use any help we can get."  
"No."  
"Awww... C'mon Max. Be reasonable. More friends to help us fight is always good!" Iggy persuaded.  
"Yeah!" Added Gazzy. "More allies equals a better chance at saving the world!"  
Max grunted angrily at her begging flock. "One week. I'll give them a one week trial to prove themselves. If I still don't think they deserve to be here after today next week, all three of them are on their own. Got that?"  
We all whooped and whistled. It's game time. And we only got one week.

**for once, I got nothin to say here but, review!**


	14. One Week

**ok, ok. Sorry for the wait. I sincerely apologize. I don't own Maximum Ride, but I do own Coral, Zhone, and Cork. **

**Now, the first two POVs are pretty much just fillers, but the last one is pretty awesome. I gotta give a warning though. This chapter has a someone exploding. And guess what! Cork gets a backstory! Hooray! My thanks to:**

**User user ****(for informing me how to say update in five new languages)**

**Reading Addicted ****(thanks for your review! you haven't seen the last of mean Max!)**

**BirdKid13 ****(whoo hoo! Go back stories!)**

**One week**

Coral's POV  
Ok. We have one week. And so far it's not going great. Cork was trying to suck up to Max, and it was just annoying her. Zhone accidentally ignited a small bomb in Iggy's face, and I think I may have just accidentally changed Fang's depth perception, causing him to run into a tree.  
"What the-" He muttered angrily, rubbing his head.  
The Gasman snickered.  
"Oh! Sorry!" I cried, quickly changing it back. "That was my fault..."  
"Darn right it was." Max muttered angrily.  
"Did you know that lions tongues are really for-"  
Iggy cupped his hand over Cork's mouth. "Cork! I thought Nudge was bad! Enough with the random facts! Nobody cares!"  
Cork smiled sheepishly. "Uh... Sorry. That's just me being me."  
"Yeah." Zhone laughed. "Nerd country over here! Population- Cork."  
Angel giggled. Everyone liked Zhone. Even Max. It was hard not to. He was just that kind of person.  
"Ok, question." Iggy smirked. "Do you have to climb into a tree every time you take off?"  
Zhone grinned. "Nah. Cause I'm smarter than the average... Bat."  
We all laughed. Except Fang and Max.

Zhone's POV  
_Coral is so beautiful when she laughs._  
Oh my gosh. What was I thinking? I shook my head to clear it. Ok. Five more days. Five more days to become friends with Max. Piece of cake.  
_Not._  
The girl was so dang stubborn. I made a joke. She tried not to laugh. I said something nice. She pretended not to care. I accidentally ignite small bombs. She blows her top. (No pun intended.)  
_I mean, what's her deal?_  
Angel laughed. I smiled at her. Now that girl was a totally different story. She was so trusting and sweet and adorable. And she can read minds.  
**_Max loves chocolate chip cookies._**  
I heard a little voice in my head and nearly jumped out of my pants. I would have assumed it was Angel, but I couldn't tell if it was male or female, young or old. I was pretty sure it was on my side though.  
Everyone looked at me strange. Coral laughed. "Uh... Zhone?"  
"I think I just heard a voice in my head..." I mused.  
"Welcome to the club." Max muttered.  
I chucked. "You have a voice in your head? Good. I thought I was the only one going crazy."  
Then Fang actually laughed. Not an unusually large puff of air or a smirk. He laughed. Out loud. Oh my-  
"Oh my gosh! Fang did you just laugh?! Zhone how did you just do that? We've been trying for years! Even when Gazzy does his awesome imitations all we get is a puff of air, but you just made _Fang laugh_! Fang! Laugh! Oh- em-"  
Nudge was silenced as max glared at her, me, and Fang. Me for making the joke, Fang for laughing at it, and Nudge for pointing out how incredibly awesome it was.  
**_Next time you're in town, you should buy her cookies._**  
_Noted._  
"We should go somewhere." I suggested. "Sitting here in the forest is just a bit anti-climactic."  
"Fine." Max muttered and unfurled her wings, ready for take off.  
I grabbed Cork and we were off.

Cork  
If I were the least bit the macho man type, it would have embarrassed me that I was being carried everywhere like a rag doll. Fortunately though, I always accept help. Almost.  
We closed in on a city after about three hours of flying. It was a decent town. I mean, it wasnt busy or anything, but it wasnt run down. It had quite a few shops, some restaurants, a couple apartments, the usuall. We landed smoothly, no one around to see us. Zhone grinned as he spotted a little bakery, and turned to Max.  
"Hey, I'll be right back." He called as he jogged off in its direction.  
Max eyed him warily but waved on the group.  
"So what do we so now?" Nudge asked. "I think we need to find out where all these bat-gecko thingies are coming from. I mean, they could be from the school or the institute, but you never know if some scientist could just be hanging out in his basement creating recombinant life forms like a mad man. Mad like crazy not like angry, y'know?"  
Max nodded, thinking carefully. "I don't think they're from any of the scientists we've met. These things _explode_."  
"Wait, they explode?!" I cried, baffled.  
Everyone nodded.  
My mind instantly transported itself to a different time, when I was small and helpless.  
_ I was in a cage. Everything was cold. I was cold, the floor was cold, even the air was cold. The walls around me were grey and uninviting. A man in a white coat appeared in the doorway. His shoes clacked eagerly on the floor as he walked toward me. I watched in both relief and sorrow as he picked up the four armed girl in the cage next to mine. She hung limply in his arms. Everyone here had learned not to struggle. If you did, they trashed you as uncooperative and used you as entertainment. They often used a thick grey tape of some kind to tape you to a wall, then tortured you untill you died of starvation or disease or dehydration. It all happened in one room, and sometimes the men a women made us watch. It was awful.  
The man strapped the girl to a metal table, and I shrunk to the back of my cage. I hated the operations. There was too much blood, and too much screaming. The man grinned devilishly and pulled a sharp object from his coat pocket. He began to make precise cuts, and I turned away. The whimpers of fear were enough, but when she started screaming, I felt sick. And I actually was. I had spent the entire night vomiting up a strange blue liquid they had forced me to drink, and I became queasy again. I whimpered a little, and the scientist yelled at me.  
"Be quiet, mutant scum! I'm trying to concentrate on this one!"  
I clutched my knees to my chest and rocked slowly on my feet, trying to hold down the small bit of nutrition I had been fed this morning. I failed. The reptile boy on my left was older than me, about 12, and he looked at me sympathetically. The girl screeched and we both winced.  
"All done, little freak." He laughed, and carried her back to her cage.  
She curled up into a little ball and whimpered as he locked her door. She cried all night. It was terrifying, to know someone could be that scared and in that much pain. In the morning, the man came back with another man and a woman. They took the girl out and set her in the middle of the room. The first man took out a remote and pressed a button. Her eyes dilated and she started breathing heavily. Hissing filled the room and I was confused. She let out a blood curdling screech and exploded, sending tiny parts of her flying into every corner of the room. I screamed. The scientists laughed in victory. The boy next to me just sobbed quietly to himself.  
Months later, they sold me to the school, eager to make room for better experiments. At first, the school felt like heaven._  
I shuddered and whimpered, needing to put a hand on Coral to steady myself.  
"Cork, are you ok?" She said, concerned.  
I nodded, but it was halfhearted. "I know... I know where these things are coming from."

**You like, love, hate? Tell me please! I love reviews! They make me happy!**


	15. One Week Pt 2

**I'm back with another update! Hooray! This chapter is big! No secrets revealed or anything, but still a big chapter! And I finally have another Max POV in there, so yay! Anyway, my thanks to:**

**BirdKid13**** (aww, you're so nice. *blush*)**

**User user**** (well, here you go.)**

**Reading addicted**** (thanks for reviewing! And I'm not sure what you figured out...) **

**One week pt.2**

Zhone  
I walked into the bakery and smiled at the nice looking lady behind the counter. The human contact only made me a little nervous, since I knew my hoodie hid my huge bat ears and wings.  
"Welcome! How may I help you?" Her voice was kind and pleasing to the ear.  
"Uh, a dozen chocolate chip cookies, please." I answered, pulling a small wad of cash from my pocket.  
She grabbed a bag and placed twelve hot, fresh cookies in it, humming a song quietly to herself. "That'll be eight-ninety seven."  
I handed her the money and took my bag, turning to exit the store.  
"Your change, sir!" She called after me, and I called back.  
"Keep it! You seem nice!"  
I heard her laugh in surprise as the door closed behind me. I hid the bag in my hoodie pocket and jogged back to the spot where we separated. To my surprise they were still in sight. Cork was steadying himself on Coral. He looked uneasy.  
"You guys ok?" I yelled, and they all turned to me.  
Cork nodded uncomfortably, and I quickly made my way to them.  
"I got a surprise." I grinned, and Coral gave me a one of her signature looks. Curiosity with a dash of unknowing dread and a big heaping handful of Zhone-I-swear-if-you-make-anyone-scream-I-will-kil l-you.  
I laughed. "Don't give me that look. It's a good surprise. Now everyone close your eyes and hold out your hands."  
Max scowled. Iggy nudged her with his elbow. "C'mon! What could it hurt?"  
She sighed and did as she was told, along with everyone else. I pulled out the bag and placed a warm cookie in each of their hands, took one for myself, and handed the rest of the bag to Max.  
"Open em' up!"  
Nudge squealed happily. "Oh wow, Zhone! That's what you were doing! You got us cookies! I love cookies! But not as much as Max! Max loves cookies! I bet these cookies aren't as good as her mom's, but almost all cookies are good. Except Max's..."  
She trailed off at the end and shuddered, making everyone laugh.  
"Zhone, I gotta give it to you. That was the best surprise I've had in a long time." Ig mumbled through his mouthful of partly melted chocolate chips and cookie crumbs.  
Max didnt say anything, but the delight showed plain on her face as she bit into her treat. I mentally patted myself on the back.  
I also did a mental happy dance, and Angel laughed loudly, spewing a few cookie crumbs. I laughed right along with her. We all finished our cookies, and continued our walk, enjoying the quiet streets.  
Iggy and I stopped dead at the exact same time. I heard something, but I wasn't quite sure what it was. Looking around to make sure there were no other people there, I flipped off my hood and twitched my ears in search of the sound. At first I heard nothing, but then when the rest of the flock fell silent, I caught it.  
It was the distant, _whup, whup, whup_ of a chopper.  
"Chopper. Northeast. Allyway. Now." I muttered, and everyone obeyed without question.  
We silently ducked into the dark allyway, listening for the chopper. I hoped desperately that it was headed the other direction, but of course, the sound quickly gained volume. We watched as it landed in the forested area outside the town, and Max groaned.  
"We need to get out of here. We head to the other side of town, into the forest there, and up and away, got it? " She ordered without hesitation.  
We all nodded and set the plan into action.

Max's POV  
_Stupid whitecoats can't even give us a moments peace can they?!_  
_**Max. I told you not to underestimate them.**_  
_Well, hello voice. I would say nice to hear you again, but I've been told lying is wrong._  
The voice made a _tsk, tsk_ sound, but stopped talking.  
We ran almost silently to the other side of town, luckily not seeing any other people. Breaking through the line of trees, we stopped to take a breath.  
"Dumb... Whitecoats...and their dumb... Choppers." Iggy grunted angrily, kicking up dirt.  
"Up and away." I breathed.  
We took off immediatley, the heavy canopy of leaves only slowing us down a few milliseconds. It felt good to stretch my wings. Zhone was still straining his ears over something. Looking at him quizzically, I motioned for him to speak.  
"I can still hear them speaking... I think they're yelling at each other." He muttered, his giant ears twitching constantly. "It's very faint. A man said, 'we tracked her near here.' Then a woman said, 'but you don't see her, do you?' The man is talking again. She may... Have... Lean... No, seen... The chopper. Keys...no, uh, she's... smart. Something, something... Other side of sound. Oops, uh, town."  
My internal alarms went off.  
"Let's go. They know we're here."  
The flock followed me quickly. My powerful wings pushed downward, and I soon got into a steady and farmiliar rhythm. For once, we were safe, out of harms way, home fr-  
A searing burst of pain shot through my left leg, and I cried out, gritting my teeth.  
_I've been shot._  
"Max!" Gazzy called.  
I swiveled my head in search of the source, spotting the chopper in the distance. Thanks to my raptor vision, I manage to pick out the barrel of a high tech sniper rifle poking out the window.  
"Crap!" I yell, still holding my left thigh. "Down, down!"  
We all drop to the canopy of trees, now highly alert.  
"What happened?!" Iggy asked frantically.  
"Max got shot." Fang replied quickly.  
"She what?!" He yelled, making his way over to me.  
"M'fine Ig." I mumbled.  
"Where'd it-"  
Another bang sounded in the distance, and Fang instantly tried to cover me with himself. He grunted.  
"Fang!" I was immediatley trying to figure out where he got hit.  
The shoulder on his shirt was a slightly darker shade of black, and his other hand reached up to grasp it.

"it just nicked me." He muttered.

I bit my lip against my own pain and flew a little faster. "C'mon guys. We need to get out of here."

Cork was completely frantic. "We can't go faster than them! They have a chopper for crying out loud! Unless you people can fly over 100-200 mph, we can't do this!"  
I ignored him. We had to make it. We will. We-  
I yelled out again as another bullet pierced my side. I was loosing blood, fast.  
"We need to land!" Fang commanded immediatley.  
For once I didn't complain. It could be because I knew Cork and Fang were right and we couldn't out fly this thing. It could also be because I was rapidly becoming dizzy and faint due to blood loss, and I really didnt think I could fly much further anyway. We made our hasty descent, landing softly on the welcoming grass. I instantly collapsed, causing everyone to gather around me worriedly. We all heard the chopper closing in on on us.  
Fang grunted as he leaned me against a tree, readying himself for battle. We heard voices, and about 15 bat-geckos flooded onto the scene. They looked different somehow, but I couldn't place my finger on it, probably thanks to lack of blood to my brain. Then I heard the dreaded sound.  
_Click, click._  
I braced myself, but the sound heard was not the distinct _bang! _of a gun.  
_Swoosh._  
I felt some sort of netting cover my body, and was instantly struggling weakly. I almost didnt notice when a whitecoat wearing a gas mask came by and threw some kind of sphere into the middle of the fighting. The thing began making a hissing noise, not unlike the geckos did. Iggy, who was standing closest to it, stopped dead mid punch. He cautiously sniffed the air, and instantly choked the breath back out. He becan hacking violently, and I realized the thing must emit some kind of gas. Iggy was soon followed by Cork, Gazzy, and Nudge. Angel ran for the nearest tree and climbed it to avoid the gas. Fang was the next victim, then Zhone. Coral climbed a tree as well, successfully avoiding the poisonous fumes.  
They were all too busy to notice when a whitecoat dragged me away, still encased in the net. He tossed me roughly into the parked chopper, and I landed with a solid _thud_. The blades on the massive machine started to move, lifting me further and further away from my flock. I watched fuzzily as the remaining geckos below vaporized, and felt a small pin prick on my arm.  
_Wha-_  
The world turned blurry, distant, then black.

**Alright, so, I am open to reader suggestions! If you have any desires or ideas for the plot, an OC, anything, just PM me, Kay? And review!**


	16. One week pt 3

**I'm back! Whoo-hoo! I don't have too much to say, except, I'm still open for suggestions and OCs! My thanks to:**

**BirdKid13**** (haha, you are awesome. And just for being my faithful reviewer, I added something in there just for you.)**

**Guest**** (whoever you are, thank you soooooo much for those tips! Here's some good news for ya! Nice Max comes back in this chapter! Yay!)**

**PalmerPie**** (I can't thank you enough for check my story! thanks for the advice!)**

**One week Pt. 3**

Fang's POV  
It suddenly became hard to breathe. I sucked in, expecting a lungful of oxygen, but to no avail. I choked, noticing the others doing so as well, and saw a small hissing sphere laying on the ground. My eyes watered as I began a never ending coughing fit, trying to rid myself of poisonous gas. Even in this state I spotted the chopper takeoff, and a streak of farmiliar hair through the window.  
"Max!" I croaked between violent coughing fits. "Guys! Get... Away... From... Here!"  
All of us but Iggy made our painful way out of the gas cloud.  
"Ig!" I choked out.  
He ignored me and kneeled next to the device, still hacking. Cracking it open, Iggy sluggishly found several wires and snapped them with his pocket knife.  
The hissing stopped.  
Gazzy cheered, but got cut off as he started coughing. Iggy got up slowly and mad his way toward us. His eyes were halfway closed, and his breathing was ragged.  
"You okay?" I asked as he walked up.  
He nodded and leaned against a tree, giving me a weak thumbs up.  
"Never better." He croaked, but his knees immediatley buckled underneath him, sending him to the ground.  
"Iggy!" Nudge yelled, rushing over to him.  
Coral, who had avoided the gas by climbing a tree, glanced into the sky and yelled, "Holy bacon covered shnitzels! They got Max! Cork, Zhone! Rescue plan 13, code orange!"  
She and Zhone instantly zipped into the sky, but I had to be focused on Iggy right now.  
"Ig, Iggy." I muttered as I reached him.  
He was unconsious.  
_Crap._

Coral's POV  
I hastily grabbed Cork and yelled out.  
"Ready!"  
Zhone and I lept into the air, intent on following the chopper. Zhone flew as fast as he could and let out a high pitched screech, causing the pilot to turn and see him. I zipped up under the heli and gripped the landing gear, dropping Cork off there, ready for the next step. Zhone screeched again, this time shattering all the windows. The chopper swerved. He nodded at me. I quickly changed the pilots perception of just about everything. The flying machine bobbed and weaved, wreaking chaos inside. There was a lot of screaming, and I climbed hastily up to the broken window. Spotting an unconsious Max entangled in a large net, I reaced in and snatched her up, grunting with effort. I flew over and handed her to Zhone.  
I nodded at Cork and he set the landing gear on fire. Zipping over to him, I let him jump off the flaming machine and into my outstretched arms. Zhone and I quickly made our way back to the scene of the fight, careful to avoid the very slowly dissapating gas. Iggy was laying on his back, out cold, and the rest of the flock was standing around him worriedly. Angel's face lit up when she saw us.  
"Fang, Fang! They got Max! They saved her! They got her back!"  
She rushed over and hugged each of us, nearly in tears. She hugged max last, stirring her.  
"Unnggg." Her eyes slowly peeled open.  
"Max! Max! You're ok!" Angel cried, and hugged her again. "I saw them take you and tried to tell everyone but then Iggy... Max they saved you!"  
Fang finally looked up, saw us, and immediatley jumped up and ran over, relief making him smile. He picked Max up bridal style and moved her over next to Iggy. She blinked several times and coughed weakly before she passed out again.  
Fang sighed and stood up, looking around at the members of the flock that were still conscious. "We should go to Max's mom's house. We can rest up there. I'll carry Max, Zhone can carry Iggy, and Coral you carry Cork."  
"But Fang! Your shoulder. You can't carry her that long with an injury like that. I'll carry Max. Nudge can carry Cork." I argued, putting on my stubborn face.  
He thought for a moment, and after realizing that his pride didnt matter in this situation, nodded in agreement. We were off almost immediatley, gliding less than gracefully toward Max's Mom's house. We had to stop five times. One to get food, the other four to give my arms a rest. Zhone was a lot stronger than was, so he would have been able to carry Iggy the whole way non stop, but he kept insisting we land every time he saw me struggling. Fang got really impatient and tried to carry Max, but he almost dropped her mid-air and grudgingly gave her back to me. By the time we landed in the forest outside the little house in the woods, my clothes were soaked in Max's blood, Fang was getting a bit pale himself, and Iggy was, well, still unconsious. I walked up to the door without hesitation, knowing we probably didnt have much longer. Knocking on the door with my elbows, I shifted uncomfortably on the small porch. A girl with black hair opened the door and gasped.  
"Max! Who are you? Why is- MOM!"  
In normal circumstances I would have laughed, but being that I was currently holding a bloody, unconsious bird-girl in my arms, I just couldn't. A woman who vaguely reminded me of Max appeared behind the other girl. She gasped as well and looked at me with caution, her eyes often flickering to Max, laying limp in my arms.  
"Who are you?" She asked, and I knew she would let me in no matter who I was, thanks to the passenger I brought.  
"It doesn't matter right now." I said hastily. "Max needs help, and so does Iggy."  
The woman stepped aside and looked for the others. "Where are the rest of you?"  
I looked behind me. I hadn't realized they hadn't followed me to the door. "Guys! Get your butts over here!"  
Cork and Zhone cautiously stepped into the open, soon followed by the rest of the flock. Fang was the first to follow me into the house, then came Zhone, Cork, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel.  
"What happened?" She asked calmly, evaluating the group of kids in her entryway.  
"Max got shot twice, and I think they drugged her. Iggy breathed in some poisonous fumes trying to disable a... Well you get the idea. Fang also got shot, but we think he only got grazed." I explained quickly and she nodded.  
"Max first. I want you to set her on the couch. Ella, I want you to help this boy take Iggy upstairs to one of the spare bedrooms. Fang, take a seat here." She gestured to a comfy looking chair next to the couch.  
He eased his way into the chair with an un-fang like sigh of relief.  
"Where'd she get shot?" The woman asked me, all business.  
"Her thigh, and I think her side." I answered, full to the brim with worry.  
The girl came back downstairs, holding a first aid kit in her hands. "Mom, I got your tools."  
"Thanks Ella." She began to cut away Max's shirt, and gestured to me. "Go make sure Iggy is breathing. If he's not, call for me, then begin doing compressions on his chest. He is probably still breathing though, and in that case, I just want you to watch him and make sure he's comfortable, and notify me when he wakes."  
I nodded and quickly made my way up the stairs, seeing only one open door. I peeked my head in to see Iggy laying peacefully in the bed, his chest moving up and down in a raspy, but steady rythem.  
As I sat there, I couldn't help but wonder what exactly those sickos at the school did to his eyes. When I was there, an experiment once was taken away for an operation, and the whitecoats said something about night vision. The poor kid came back sobbing his eyes out, and the next morning I was woken by his screams. Turns out he woke up blind. I wondered if they had done the same thing to Iggy.  
_Probably._  
They experimented on my eyes too. They succeeded, and that's why I can change the color. It hurt a lot at first, but it faded with time, leaving me with a fun party trick. I guess I was lucky.  
His hair was growing a bit long, and I could see a strawberry red color at the roots. I hadn't realized he died his hair. I liked the original color better. He coughed weakly.  
"Ig, you awake?" I said softly.  
He coughed again and cleared his throat. "Yup. Feel like crap."  
Then as an after thought he added, "Am I on a bed?"  
I smiled. "Yeah. You sound hoarse. Want me to get you some water?"  
He nodded and I got up and left the room, heading back down the stairs.  
"Excuse me, miss?" I called. "Where's the kitchen? Iggy's awake and he wants some water."  
I noticed Fang asleep on his chair, and I laughed on the inside.  
Max's mom smiled at me. "He's awake? Good. The kitchen is that way, and cups are in the cabinet second to the right."  
I smiled back and headed into the kitchen, going to the cabinet. Zhone was waiting for me, looking worried.  
"Hey." I said as I pulled out a glass.  
"Hey." He murmured back.  
I filled the glass with water from the tap and looked at him. "You gonna tell me why you look worried or am I going to have to guess?"  
He sighed. "Just stressed out. Was it really just yesterday we were roaming the streets eating cookies? Now we're in some strange lady's house with two injured bird-kids, a poisoned pyromaniac, and a flock of frazzled feathered friends."  
"You know, we were actually eating cookies this morning. It's not mid-night yet." I mused, trying to lighten the mood, and failing.  
He leaned against the wall closed his eyes. It hurt me to see him like this. He was usually so upbeat and funny, the one who we could always count on to make us laugh.  
I hugged him abruptly, smiling. "Don't be depressed. You know and I know these guys are strong, and we'll be out of here in no time. Max'll wake up and see that we can belong here, and we can become part of the flock. You'll see. It'll all be okay."  
Zhone suddenly grinned. "That's my girl."  
I laughed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a pyro to serve."  
I left the room with the glass of water and walked to "Iggy's" room.  
He heard me enter the room and looked up. "Coral? That you?"  
"The one and only." I said as I handed him the glass.  
He took a sip and sighed in relief. "Now, where are we exactly? And why do I feel like someone set off a bomb in my lungs?"  
I laughed at his comparison. Of course that's what he would think of. "Well, right now we're at Max's mom's house. The reason you feel like crap is because you disabled a machine that released poisonous gas."  
He coughed and nodded. "Oh, I remember now... There was that fight and the hissing thingy... I don't remember anything after cutting those wires and then leaning against that tree... Did I black out?"  
I nodded, then remembered he couldn't see it. "Yeah. Zhone carried you the whole way here. Nudge got Cork and I got Max cause of Fang's shoulder."  
"How is Max? And Fang?"  
"Max's mom is tending to her, and last I checked, Fang was sleeping on the recliner in the living room, all comfy."  
Iggy laughed and gulped down the rest of the water, setting the empty glass on the night stand.  
"Get some rest, okay?" I said to him as I left the room.  
"Don't have to tell me twice." He muttered.  
I hopped down the stairs, to find Max awake. I smiled and noticed that she wasnt laying down or anything. Not that I don't want her to rest or anything, its just...  
She was taking pictures.  
Of Fang.  
I giggled, and Max swiveled her head to see me.  
"Nice photo op, huh?" I whispered, and she smiled at me.  
Max. Smiled. _At me_.  
She must be feeling all happy thanks to being home.  
I sniffed the air.  
_Or maybe its that heavenly scent coming from the kitchen._  
I sighed and inhaled deeply.  
Max laughed quietly at me, then continued her photo shoot.  
"Why are you being so nice to me?" I questioned, keeping my voice low as to not wake Fang.  
"Because," she answered, stopping and looking into my eyes. "I've made my decision. Welcome to the flock."

Hooray! Yay! Max can stop being so mean! Not that she isn't at times anyway, but she can stop being so mean to the new members! Anyway, open to ideas, just PM me! Review!


	17. Authors note

**Authors Note.**

****Hey, thanks a ton to all my readers, reviewers, followers, favoriters. I really appreciate you guys, but unfortunately, I need to put this story on hiatus for now. Don't virtually stab me or anything. So sorry but school+homework+social life+eating and sleeping+the book I'm writing+chores=no time for writing fan fiction. So so sorry. I may do some one shots, but other than that I am out for a while. Again, really sorry.

Questions, Comments, Reviews, angry letters? I hope you understand.

-fly on


	18. My Cookie!

**Hey Im back! Aren't you just so exited! I just checked my email and saw my new reviewers and my faithful readers and just felt so bad for putting this off so here ya go! I have ONE hint in there about something and when your done, I want you to see if you can guess what the hint was! So, my thanks to:**

**All of my faithful reviewers! I'm not gonna go into specifics for you guys this time, just because I am low on time!**

**Strawberryz (hahahahaha! You make me laugh so hard!and I love that you go into specifics! That is so great! Thanks!)**

**Mizzle6 (wow. You created your account just for me? Aww. *blush*)**

**GiveMeBooks13 (youre so nice! And I am thinking about changing my rating, but... Idk how... *shrugs*)**

**sorry if I missed ya! My email in being weird! Anyways, on to the story!**

**My Cookie!**

Coral's POV  
I nearly shrieked in Joy. I was in the flock! We were in the flock!  
"Oh my feathered couch cushions! Max, thank you so much!"  
Fang stirred a bit and I instantly stiffened up, hoping I hadn't woken him. Of course, though, he popped open one eye and stared straight at me. His injured shoulder was very professionally bandaged. Max quickly hid the camera behind her back.  
"Max..." He said warily.  
She smiled innocently. "Yes, Fang?"  
"What's behind your back?"  
"Uh... My hands?"  
He eyed her and lurched to the side suddenly, catching a glimpse of the camera behind her back.  
"Max. Give it."  
"Gotta catch me first!" She called before jumping up wincing a bit.  
He narrowed his eyes and got up quickly, making Max ready herself to run. He darted after her, and they chased each other around the room, laughing and taunting each other.  
Max's mom walked in and sighed. "I told you to rest! You need to let those wounds heal and-"  
She stopped when she realized Max wasn't listening.  
"Give. Me. The. Camera."  
"Never!"  
Fang chased Max into another room, and I heard lots of ruckus going on.  
Max's mom smiled and turned to me. "I haven't had a chance to introduce myself. I'm Valencia Martinez, Max's mother."  
I smiled a little sleepily. "I'm Coral. Nice to meet you."  
She told me to make myself comfortable in any bedroom upstairs, so I did, falling asleep quickly.

Max's POV  
I laughed as Fang chased me into Ella's room, thankful she wasnt in there. Running to the opposite side of the bed, I taunted him with the camera.  
"Max, give it." He said, reaching over and trying to grab it from me.  
I pulled my arm back. "Never! These pictures are going on your blog!"  
He practically jumped over the bed and tried to get the camera again. I shrieked and fell onto the bed, holding it just out of his reach. He crawled onto the bed and grabbed at it again, but I moved my arm out of the way.  
I jumped up and waved the camera smugly. He followed me up and we grappled for the camera, laughing. He was yelling at me and I was laughing and suddenly his lips were on mine and the whole world stopped. I slowly released the camera from my grasp. Fang buried his hand deep in my hair, and I closed my eyes. Nothing in the world mattered right then. Nothing but Fang and me. I opened my eyes a slit and slowly separated from Fang. He smiled at me, and we both sat down on the bed. I sleepily leaned my head on his shoulder, completely content.  
_Yes. I can worry about saving the world later._  
Fang smirked and, quick as lighting, reached his hand out and plucked the camera off the floor. Lightly, I tried to swipe it away, and he let me.  
"If you post those on my blog, I'll have an excuse to get back at you someday."  
I rolled my eyes. He continued.  
"When you least expect it."  
I sighed. Right now I could care less. The painkillers were wearing off and a dull pain was seeping its way into just about every bone in my body.  
I groaned. "Maybe the whole chase thing wasnt a good idea."  
"I'll go get you more aspirin." Fang said, understanding the full content of my complaint. He got up and walked out the door. I really don't know if he even came back, because before even a minute passed, I was asleep.

Coral's POV  
I woke up around three in the morning, and not because I was feeling rested. No, not even a little. I woke up because I literally felt hollow. Yesterday was pretty stressful, and eating was the last thing on my mind. Now that things had calmed down, though, I think if I waited any longer, I would collapse in on myself and create a mini black hole.  
I got up and tip toed into the kitchen, only to find that not just me, but everyone but Max, Mrs. Martinez, and the girl with the black hair had the same idea as me. Gazzy looked up at me and giggled, giving Iggy a pointed look. Its as if Iggy could feel Gazzy's eyes on him, because he turned red.  
I narrowed my eyes at him, but dismissed it as my stomach flipped over in instance for food. "Food."  
Zhone smirked. "I can't believe you even lasted that long."  
Cork grinned. "Ig, Gazzy, and I were the first in here. We made a bet on who would sleep the longest through hunger. I bet on you." Then he added, to Gaz and Ig, "you guys both owe me fifty cents."  
I rolled my eyes. "Ugggg. I assume I haven't made myself clear. FOOD."  
Zhone laughed. "Mrs. Martinez made cookies. Here."  
He tossed me a soft cookie. I immediatly took a bite, only chewing slowly because the flavor was so wonderful in my mouth I couldn't help it. Fang smirked, and I realized it must show on my face.  
"You look like Max."  
I grinned and opened my mouth to show him my chewed up cookie. Mature, I know.  
"Do I look like Max now?" I asked, trying not to spew wet crumbs.  
Zhone shook his head, and, with a mischievous look on his face, plucked Angel's cookie right out of her hands. She hadn't even taken a bite yet, and her face instantly scrunched up angrily.  
"HEY!"  
"Gotta get it away from me!" Zhone taunted, holding it above Angel's head.  
She jumped up in the air to grab it, but Zhone yanked it upwards, as if teasing a cat with a bell on a string. Angel giggled and grabbed at it again, and failing. This time, she grinned sweetly and locked eyes with Zhone.  
"My. Cookie. Give. It. Back."  
She spoke slowly, and sternly, as if scolding a child. A look of confusion crossed his face, and he struggled for a bit, but slowly lowered the cookie and handed it to Angel.  
"Thank you!" She giggled innocently.  
I gaped. "What was…how… what the… huh?"  
Iggy chuckled. "She's creepy, Isn't she?"  
Angel made a pouty face. "Why do you guys always say that!? I'm not creepy!"  
"Not creepy... Just... Uh... I didn't expect that... Uh..." I stuttered.  
"You get used to it." Iggy mumbled, smirking.  
_This just keeps getting weirder and weirder._

**did you get the hint? Hehehe. More details in that soon. Review! :-)**


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